Sammy and Marshall
by Interspark
Summary: Never read one of these before, hopefully you haven't either. It's a gender-swapped Simon and Marcy! That's pretty much it. Enjoy!
1. Chapter 1

Sammy and Marshall

All was quiet in the ruined metropolis. The chaotic rush of traffic and commuters had been silenced by the atomic bombs almost a decade ago, although there was only one person still alive who remembered them, to whom a silent city was still eerily unnatural.

A moment later, that same person's voice broke the silence.

"Marshall-Lee, look!"

A woman ran along the cracked road. She was around forty years old, had long, wild white hair and tinted blue skin. She wore a formal, black blouse and trousers, with a small, golden tiara tied to her belt with a bit of string. On her nose, were perched a small pair of circular, blue glasses.

She held the hand of a small boy, who ran along with her. He was around eight. His hair was shaggy and jet-black. He grinned happily, showing a pointed fang on either side of his upper jaw.

The two of them reached a mobile food shop, abandoned at the side of the road. The woman grunted in effort as she picked the boy up and sat him on the counter.

"Oh my, you're getting so big, Marshall-Lee!" She said, endearingly. Her voice was warm and loving.

She walked into the food shop through the open door and looked around. She lifted out one of the cooking trays and grimaced. It was full of barely identifiable sludge, reeked and had flies crawling over it.

"You want some fries, Marshall-Lee?" She chuckled, holding it up to him.

The boy screamed jokingly and pushed the tray away.

"Sammy, that's so gross!" He cried.

"I've seen you try to eat worse!" She smiled, putting the tray back.

Sammy turned around and opened a fridge at the back of the shop. It wasn't working, of course, but a number of the canned drinks were still there and intact. She began to take them out and put them into her camping bag.

"Can I have one of those?" Marshall-Lee asked, hopefully.

Sammy turned around to face him. "Are you thirsty?" She asked suspiciously.

"Yes…" Marshall-Lee said, quietly, without making eye contact with Sammy.

Sammy ruffled his hair lovingly. "You can have one tomorrow, it's a little late for one now, sweetheart. I don't want you up all night. You can have some water when we get back to the camp."

Marshall-Lee sulked silently as Sammy finished emptying the fridge. She walked out of the shop and held out her hand to him. After a few seconds, Marshall-Lee smiled reluctantly, hopped off the counter and took her hand. The two of them walked through the city and back to their camp.

* * *

The next day, Sammy and Marshall-Lee ventured back into the depths of the metropolis. Sammy knew which areas of the city were hotspots for mutant attacks and which areas were more likely to be safe. She made sure Marshall-Lee memorized the areas too, and was _always_ alert. Living in a post-apocalyptic city could be exhausting sometimes.

She had often considered taking Marshall-Lee to live somewhere in the countryside, but it was unlikely that very many crops survived the war. And even if they found any, there was no way to preserve them. For the foreseeable future, processed and canned foods were their only hope.

As Sammy walked along the street, Marshall-Lee ran ahead, excitedly. True to Sammy's instructions, he stayed close to her and approached street corners from afar to avoid running into anything.

"Hey Sammy. What do we need to get today?" Marshall-Lee asked, as Sammy caught up with him.

"Nothing in particular." Sammy said, sounding somewhat relieved. "We're pretty well stocked right now, but I'd like to keep it that way. Remember that shopping mall we saw the other day?"

A few days ago, Sammy and Marshall-Lee had had to run from a swarm of mutants, and had seen the mall in the distance.

Marshall-Lee frowned. "We're going there? Is it safe…?" He stole a look at Sammy's tiara, hanging from her belt.

"We'll just have to be a little careful. Hey, you know most malls have toy stores!"

Marshall-Lee's face lit up. His only toys were his teddy bear, Hambo, and a slingshot Sammy had helped him build. He didn't seem to notice how Sammy had changed the subject. She hadn't lied, they _were_ doing fine for provisions… for the time being. But the fact was that they were rapidly running out of places to search, and there simply weren't any places left where Sammy could feel sure that there would be no mutant intervention.

As the two of them approached the mall, Sammy held Marshall-Lee's hand a little harder than usual. He picked up on her fear and looked around nervously. Suddenly, there was movement in front of them. Sammy instinctively wrapped an arm around Marshall-Lee defensively and her other hand grasped her tiara. A moment later though, they both relaxed slightly.

A dark pink ball, the size of a basketball had rolled out of an alleyway in front of them and had come to a stop in the middle of the road. The two of them approached it cautiously. When they were a few feet away, Sammy let go of Marshall-Lee's hand.

"Wait here, sweetheart." She said, before approaching the thing herself.

She picked it up carefully. She squeezed it and the surface seemed to fracture around her hands. Gobsmacked by the realisation that was slowly dawning on her, Sammy leant forwards and sniffed the thing.

"What is it?" Marshall-Lee asked, slowly walking forwards.

"It's a gumball…" Sammy mumbled, the confusion clear in her voice. "Oh, it's a kind of candy." She added, once she noticed the confusion on Marshall-Lee's face.

Sammy looked down the alleyway, but there was no sign of whoever, or whatever had set it in motion. Even though the gumball itself didn't pose any danger, Sammy was troubled by how little sense it made. What confused her, was who had made the gumball, why they had, and most importantly, how. Maybe there was a working factory making them for some reason, which would double as a fortress against the mutants.

Snapping herself back to the present, Sammy put the gumball down and took Marshall-Lee's hand again.

"Come on. It's not important." She said.

Marshall-Lee pulled against her and looked at the gumball longingly.

Noticing what he was doing, Sammy sighed. "Darling, that's been on the floor!" She pulled on his hand encouragingly. "Come on, we'll see if we can find a candy store in the mall."

Satisfied, Marshall-Lee walked with her up to the mall's entrance. There wasn't a single pane of glass in any of the mall's windows or doors, they had all been destroyed by looters during the riots that preceded the war. The shattered remnants of the glass had been strewn across the floor. Sammy carefully guided Marshall-Lee across the threshold and into the mall's entrance plaza.


	2. Chapter 2

Half an hour later, Sammy had lived up to her promise. She sat on the counter of a large toyshop while Marshall-Lee ran around excitedly. She noticed that he favoured the toy weapons, the plastic guns and swords, she wondered if it was just how he was or if it was an after-effect of their survivalist lifestyle.

Although she had never liked such toys when she was a child, she wasn't one of the judgmental type who might condemn them. She had taught Marshall-Lee right from wrong and he certainly didn't have an aggressive nature.

A few minutes later, Marshall-Lee had settled on a gun loaded with foam bullets.

"Now remember Marshall-Lee, no one owns this store anymore, otherwise this would be stealing." Sammy told him sternly, as they left the shop.

"Right." Marshall-Lee replied, nodding his head.

The two of them walked through the mall, gazing around at the various clothes and electronics shops.

"There's got to be a supermarket around here somewhere… and maybe a pharmacy." Sammy muttered thoughtfully.

The two of them walked onwards and turned a corner. As soon as they did, Marshall-Lee let out a shriek of fear. Sammy quickly covered his mouth and pulled him back around the corner. She closed her eyes and listened, barely breathing. Around the corner, were dozens of the oozing, green mutant creatures. Sammy had only gotten a quick look, but it seemed like they were dormant.

Her hand brushed against the cold metal of the tiara and Marshall-Lee looked at her fearfully. She wouldn't have to use it, so long as nothing woke them up.

Sammy silent gestured for Marshall-Lee to return the way they had come. They turned around and jumped. Three more gumballs were rolling along the floor, one the same size as the one earlier, the other two slightly smaller. They rolled past them and across the plaza. Then they seemed to turn of their own accord and roll away from the mutants.

Sammy and Marshall-Lee shared a baffled look, and then silently agreed it wasn't the time to worry about it. They continued back through the mall, the way they had come, but almost immediately, something else stopped them.

An enormous mutant, ten times the size of most of the others, lumbered out of a shop ahead of them. It made a loud, gurgling roar sound and started to advance.

Marshall-Lee screamed. Sammy didn't stop him, she was almost tempted to join in. Behind them, she heard the squelching, rasping sounds of the other mutants as they woke up.

Sammy's eyes darted around and they fell on a set of stairs to the upper level balcony. She picked up Marshall-Lee and ran, with the mutants in pursuit. When she was half way up the stairs, she heard a loud crack that made her turn around, the mutants seemed momentarily distracted too.

The crack had come from above them. Sammy and Marshall-Lee looked up and shuddered. The mall's glass roof was covered in _hundreds_ of gumballs. Some the size of tennis balls, a few the size of boulders and most of them somewhere in between. The glass shattered and, along with the shards of glass, the gumballs rained down on the mutants. Their collective force made the entire mall shake on its foundations as the gumballs either embedded themselves in the ground with the force of their fall or bounced around the room.

Seizing the opportunity, Sammy raced up the stairs and along the balcony, maybe if they hid for long enough, the mutants would be distracted enough by the gumballs to forget about them.

They passed shop after shop, none of which offering any protection, especially seeing as they had no glass in their front windows. Eventually, they came across a door marked 'storage room'. Sammy pushed the door open and carried Marshall-Lee inside.

They sat silently, listening to the steady thumping of the gumballs outside and the chaotic moaning of the mutants. The room was lined with shelves, containing paint and tools and the like. The only light came through a tiny rectangular window, far too small for even Marshall-Lee to fit through.

Slowly, the noise outside began to fade, and eventually, all was silent. Sammy faced Marshall-Lee and placed a finger on her lips. He stared at her in terror, but amidst the fear, she saw trust in his eyes. He believed with all his heart that she would get them both out of this, and that was what stung the most, because she knew there was only one way she was going to do that…

She carefully placed an ear up to the door and listened. The sound of the gumballs and the mutants had stopped completely. Gingerly, she reached for the door handle.

There was a crash and the door bulged on its hinges. Sammy scrambled away as the groaning noise continued. From the sound of it, there were clearly several mutants on the balcony. Green goo began to seep under the door as it was bashed again.

"I'm sorry Marshall-Lee…" Sammy sighed. She reached for her belt… but the tiara was gone.

She looked around frantically, and she saw Marshall-Lee, standing on the other side of the room, clutching the tiara to his chest. He looked at her, wide-eyed.

"Sweetie, give me my tiara back, please." She asked, urgently.

"No Sammy!" Marshall-Lee shouted. "You might not come back this time!"

"I will Marshall-Lee, I promise!"

Marshall-Lee wasn't convinced. He continued to hold the tiara as the door was bashed again. The top corner broke off and several green, slimy arms began reaching through.

"Young man, you give me my tiara back this instant!" Sammy snapped.

Of course, she could easily overpower the small boy, but even in the face of imminent death, she couldn't bring herself to. With tears rolling down his cheek, Marshall-Lee held the tiara out to her. She took it gently and stood up.

"Now as soon as you get the opportunity, you run as fast as you can, back to the camp. I'll meet you there. _Not_… up for discussion." She added quickly, as Marshall-Lee opened his mouth to protest. She took off her glasses and handed them to him. "Can you look after these for me, buddy?" He nodded silently. She ruffled his hair and smiled. "Good boy…"

She turned around. Her heart felt like it was grasped by ice. The door seemed to fly off its remaining hinge in slow motion. And without hesitation, she lifted up the tiara and put it on her head.


	3. Chapter 3

Accompanied by a shrill cackle, a blizzard blasted through the doorway of the storage room and the mutants were pelted with icy daggers with such force that they were blasted through the balcony's safety rail. Around twenty mutants collapsed onto the mall's ground floor and into a thick layer of snow, which covered the mass of gumballs.

Sammy floated down towards them. Her hair had become twice as long and rippled like fire, her eyebrows had become pointed lightning bolts.

"How dare you parade around MY domain?" She shrieked. Her voice had become high-pitched and grating.

The mutants rose, covered in snow and charged at her. An ice blade formed in her hand and she cackled as she spun around, cleaving the mutants in half, one after the other, sending a splatter of green across the snow.

Marshall-Lee watched in terror as he ran down the stairs and around the outside of the ground floor. He glanced over to the exit. No matter what Sammy said, he couldn't just leave her, the mutants were the last of her worries.

Once the last mutant had been destroyed, there was a deep rumbling sound and the colossal mutant from earlier rose from the snow.

"I bet you fancy yourself quite the monarch!" Sammy cried, with an insane grin. "But there's a new queen in town now!"

The mutant charged at her frantically, when it was just a few feet away, Sammy's sword morphed into a colossal glacier which tore into the mutant's chest and erupted out of its back with a shower of green.

Sammy screamed with maniacal laughter. The sky turned dark, and electric blue lightning bolts began to strike through the hole in the ceiling and hit the ground around her, sending mutants and gumballs flying.

"Sammy!" Marshall-Lee screamed, above the noise. "That's enough!"

Sammy stopped laughing, but the lightning continued. She flew over to Marshall-Lee and loomed over him, her hair flapping around and blotting out the rest of the mall.

"It'll be enough when the world is coated with ice!" She laughed. "Now are you with me, little boy?" She asked, with a sneer.

Marshall-Lee closed his eyes and shook his head.

"Pathetic…" Sammy spat.

She turned around and floated towards the hole in the ceiling. Marshall-Lee stood up and gritted his teeth. Hoping Sammy wasn't so high up, that the fall would hurt her, he carefully aimed his toy gun at her tiara and fired.

The foam bullet sailed through the air, but just as it was about to his the tiara, Sammy turned around and swatted it away.

"You would mess with my tiara. MY POWERS?!" She bellowed, furiously.

She aimed her hand at Marshall-Lee and it glowed blue, in preparation for a spell. Marshall-Lee screamed and ran. Sammy followed him with her hand, but the spell never came. Once Marshall-Lee was clear of the mall, Sammy screwed up her face as if in pain, the uncertainty and conflict was clear on her face.

Suddenly, her eyes widened in shock as she realised what she was doing. She screamed and ruffled her hair desperately, until the tiara flew off her. She fell to the ground with a splash of snow and green goo. She feebly tried to pick herself up and look towards the door Marshall-Lee had run from, but a moment later, collapsed into the snow.

* * *

Marshall-Lee curled up on his sleeping bag, clutching Hambo and quietly sobbing. The dark clouds had subsided a couple of minutes after he left the mall, but he hadn't dared go back. Sammy had said she'd meet him back at the camp, and that meant she would, she had never let him down before. The camp was situated on the outskirts of the city and was basically just a couple of sleeping bags and a campfire, surrounded by bushes. The bushes hid it completely.

Marshall-Lee had fled the mall aver three hours ago, and he had hardly moved since he arrived at the camp. His heart was crushed by dread. He wouldn't know what to do if Sammy didn't come back, and not just about survival, he needed her for so much more than that.

Suddenly, Marshall-Lee shot into a sitting position. He heard faint footsteps. Although hope raged within him, he wasn't naïve enough to simply assume it was Sammy, she had taught him better than that. He grabbed his slingshot and a rock, and poked his head through the bushes.

He trained the slingshot on the nearest building, behind which the sound seemed to be originating. Almost a minute later, the person making the sound emerged.

"Sammy!" Marshall-Lee cried ecstatically.

He forced his way through the bush and ran towards her. Sammy's clothes were ragged and she looked so tired, it seemed like she'd been up for days, but the joy in her eyes paralleled Marshall-Lee's. She knelt down and hugged him as he reached her.

"Marshall-Lee, I'm so sorry!" Sammy said, pleading him for forgiveness with her voice. "I don't remember what happened, but…"

"I'm just glad you're back." Marshall-Lee interrupted her.

When Marshall-Lee stepped back from the hug, he noticed what else was different about Sammy.

"Hey, where's your tiara?" He asked.

Sammy smiled warmly. "In the mall, under a pile of green goo and sleet. That tiara is far more dangerous to us than any mutant. And it was only a matter of time before it took me away from you."

Marshall-Lee's face showed conflicting emotions. He was clearly overjoyed that the tiara was gone, but at the same time, reality hit him.

"But… what about the mutants?"

"The tiara never protected us from them. Even when I wasn't wearing it, it always whispered that it was there to fall back on. I'd never have took us back to that mall if I didn't have it, and I'll never make that mistake again. Can you forgive me, sweetheart?"

Marshall-Lee hugged Sammy again.

"I love you Sammy."

"I love you too, Marshall-Lee."

* * *

"And so, Sammy grew old at Marshall-Lee's side and the two of them lived happily ever after… What do you guys think?"

In the Ice Kingdom, the Ice King closed the latest volume of his Fan Fiction. Sitting cross-legged on the floor in front of him, and surrounded by penguins, Marceline gaped at him.

"Wow… that good, huh?" The Ice King remarked, sounding surprised.

The penguins all began quacking, mostly sounding bored and indifferent, and waddled away.

"Well whatever! This wasn't supposed to appeal to a penguin market, anyway! Marceline liked it, right Marcy?"

Marceline stood up and floated over to him.

"Hey Simon, who were those characters based on?" She asked him, hopefully.

The Ice King shrugged. "I dunno, I just made them up."

"Then how is it Fan Fiction?" Marceline prompted.

"Huh… oh yeah… I guess it's just regular fiction. You still liked it though, right?" The Ice King asked, with a broad grin.

Marceline smiled weakly and patted the Ice King's shoulder.

"Yeah man… It was awesome."


End file.
